The Hampton Roads Chamber will be represented throughout the 2018 Virginia General Assembly session with staff and volunteer leadership providing key testimony and lobbying daily in support of the business agenda. Check out this week's Legislative Review of the 2018 Virginia General Assembly session.

HB 919 (Jones R-76th) – Ensures credit of community college courses to four-year public institutions and makes changes to the Virginia Community College system to ensure a standard of quality of education at all comprehensive community colleges.

SB 60 (DeSteph R-8th) –Tuition Assistance Grant Program – removes requirement for private institutions of higher learning to operate as not-for-profits in order to be eligible to participate in the Tuition Assistance Grant Program.

HB 375 (Davis R-84th) – Prohibits certain local government practices that would require contractors to provide certain compensation or benefits.

SB 318 (Ruff R-15th) – Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, Implementation of certification programs for small business, definition of small business, report changes the definition of small business beginning July 1, 2019.

Taxation

SB 527 (Mason D-1st) – County Food and Beverage Tax – Increases amount counties authorized to impose from four percent to eight percent without a referendum.

Transportation

HB 768 (Jones R-76th) – Motor vehicle fuels sales tax and price floor. Establishes a floor on the 2.1 percent sales tax imposed on motor vehicle fuels sold in NOVA and Hampton Roads. (Average wholesale price on July 1, 2018 shall be the initial floor). This floor may increase if the average wholesale price exceeds the price of gasoline in the Commonwealth on February 20, 2013.

HB 917 (Stolle R-83rd) – Bases the floor on the statewide average on February 20, 2013.

HJ 25 (Heretick D-79th) – JLARC to study reduction or elimination of tolls on the Midtown and Downtown tunnels.

In other News from the Commonwealth Governor asks to keep Virginia out of Offshore Leasing Program

Governor-Elect Northam in a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke asked that Virginia be excluded from the 2019-2024 draft proposed offshore oil and gas leasing program. The state of Florida was recently exempted from the leasing program.